Going the distance Endurance events challenge body and mind

A FORMER student and an undergraduate from Bristol University have teamed up to launch a strategic endurance event business.

Will Bayley, 34, and Alex Dotsch, 21, have set up HQrecon, which already employs four permanent staff and is recruiting 100 event staff for three races in September and October.

Will is a qualified bodyguard and a professional teacher of self-defence to both civilians and military personnel.

Alex is studying mechanical engineering and has been interested in business since the age of nine, setting up first profitable website aged 16.

He is chairman of the university's Enterprise Society and recently launched Develop My Startup, a social networking site for young student entrepreneurs to meet each other and find new business partners.

HQrecon is a strategic endurance race with an emphasis on thought rather than sheer running speed.

Based on special forces reconnaissance exercises, the races require their participants to race between a series of zones, gathering codes from each.

Every zone is patrolled by a professional security team and if participants are caught, they face take a time penalty and some tough exercise.

Will said: "The thinking behind HQrecon is all about personal challenge. The adventure race market is rapidly expanding, proving a public need for arenas for personal discovery. It's a market dominated currently by obstacle racing, races where participants take on military style assault courses and muddy trails, but HQrecon attempts to add another dimension, a thinking dimension, a race where you have to use your mind as well as your body, strategy as well as speed and strength.

"The idea for HQrecon came to me after completing my 18-day instructor certification. Seeking further challenge, I wanted an event that would test me mentally and physically, but the market only offered races that challenged fitness and speed.

"Originally, HQrecon was created and run for a small group of like-minded people, but the positive response was such that I took the decision to bring it to market and release the idea to the public."

The company is now gearing up for its first events this autumn, with the first taking place at Charlton Park in Wiltshire on the weekend of September 5 to 7.

Future plans of HQrecon include expansion to many more areas of the UK in 2015, along with international expansion, with primary target markets being the USA and Europe.